Anyone know whats wrong with my Pellet Stove?

Hi all,
I wish my first post here was on a positive note, but its not.

I noticed last year that my burn tube was wearing really bad in the lower right corner. I just completed my yearly cleaning and took some pictures.
The stove-
Englander 25pdv
manf date-08/05
amount used-4 tons Bearfoot pellets and 4 tons- Pa Pellets

the wear is really bad, the auger has lots of play in it. up/down/left/right, in and out is tight. Englander sent me a new auger a few years back, they said it was under a recall and the new auger sticks out of the burn tube more then the original one did.

my other problem is that the flame does not stay consistent, because the amount of pellets in the stove is always varying even tho I keep the setting on 1. its not a lazy flame. I have spoke with tech support numerous times in the past with No results what so ever.
So i started to do some searching on the net and found you guys.
Im hoping someone could shed some light on my situation since Englander cant or wont.
my pellets are stored inside, I have done the moisture test with good results, when my heat setting is at 1 i usually burn one bag in about 24-26 hours.

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give me, Im thinking Im going to have to buy a completely new cast iron burn tube assembly for $267 from Englander. Hopefully I can get through this year with the existing one and swap it out over the summer.

Thanks Ken


misc stove and kids 009 by kengod2001, on Flickr


misc stove and kids 011 by kengod2001, on Flickr


misc stove and kids 010 by kengod2001, on Flickr

kofkorn said:

I've been burning both of our stoves for three years now, and I've never seen anything close to that. The rest of your comments are typical, loose auger, flame varying in height, and happen to both of our stoves. I think that the varying flame is inherent in the double auger design.

As to the wear on the feeder tube, do you run your stove on a very high setting for a long time? Have you had any issues with the wear plate (under the pellets with holes) in the past? This seems unusual. You certainly can replace the entire feeder assembly, but I would wonder if there might be something in your setup that would cause the same thing to happen again.

Good Luck!

Click to expand...

I have not had any other issues with wear
Only issues I have had I listed in my op
The wear on the burn tube seems really really excessive considering I have burned less then 10 tons of pellets in the stove since I bought it new in 2005
99% of the time I keep the heat setting at it lowest which is 1 if it gets really cold I have bumped it up to 2.
I have never run it over 3

Ken

OK, Great the varying flame is normal, Yes I cleaned the stove every year.

I just wish I could find out about the wear on the burn tube

thanks for the reply's and the links to the other articles, I do have my settings tweaked down

It doesnt run off a thermostat, I will probably have to put a fan in the room and turn the heat up to 2 or 3 and see what happens, If I dont put a fan in the room the heat will blow me out.


sunroom 002 by kengod2001, on Flickr

I just cleaned the stove, removed both fans and cleaned everything inside and out. the burn pot has been vacuumed, there might be a little ash in the picture but its clear.
I did not remove the burn pot this year. I did last year.
as far as the alignment of the auger, it has been a few years since it was replaced but im sure I followed the direction to the T. I know the auger move freely inside the tube. there is so much play in the auger it always rests on the bottom of the tube. I can grab the end of the auger and pull it to the top/left/right side of the tube until it touches the tube.

The explanation of always burning the stove on its lowest setting, therefor the flame is always right on the tube eroding the tube away make sense. I have always thought that the burn pot should have been 1" lower then the tube so the pellets drop into the burn pot, instead of just being pushed in.

It is going to be chilly hear in PA. tonight, I will start it up and set the heat to 2 and see if the flames stay off the eroded tube.

Ken

Murphy118 said:

Hitch,
Although this will not repair the damage already done, I think you should definately consider a thermostat. I have your stoves little brother,set up on a tstat. It keeps room constantly at the set temp and allows the stove to heat up nd cool down as the state opens and closes............just my thoughts.....

John

Click to expand...

I seem to be wrong, but I thought heating the stove up and cooling it down was bad, because it created a lot of build up on and around the auger, tube and burn plate.

I ran the stove on 2 for an entire bag, it seems the flame still stays right at the feeder tube. so it would appear that it doesnt matter, the flame will continue to wear down the tube.
bumping up from a setting of 1 to a setting of 2 dropped my burn time from around 24hr/bag to 14hr/bag that seems to be a rather excessive drop in burn time per bag. I would hate to see how fast I would burn through a bag with a setting of 5